MRX Case Studies

While much of our research is for public relations and content marketing, the following case studies are for internal market research. Accordingly, unless the client has published our research, these case studies have been blinded.

By Topic: Ad Measurement • Alcohol Research • Brand Awareness Studies • Concept Tests • Consumer Purchasing • Controversial Topics • Customer Satisfaction • Employee Satisfaction and Engagement • Establishment Surveys • Manufacturing Studies • Multinational Studies • Tourism and Hospitality • Tracking Studies

Also see: Case Studies • Case Studies by Industry • Case Studies by Topic • Recent Case Studies

Ad Measurement

Given the large investment required for advertising campaigns, research is vital to improve their ROI.

Ad Formats – For a television network interested in nontraditional commercials, we tested receptivity to a range of different ad formats with regular viewers of the network.

Ad Mockups – For a national luxury realtor, Researchscape tested messaging concepts and ad layouts to be used as templates by local realtors.

Ad Selection – A university had produced two commercials and needed to know which to run. We showed a panel of high-school students and adult learners both videos in random order and had them rate each advertisement and the resonance of the messaging. The results clearly indicated the commercial the university should air.

Ad Testing – For a personal finance brand, we asked for consideration sets and brand attributes (blinded), then showed a commercial randomly selected from a set of four (in a monadic test). We then had the participant re-rate brand attributes to measure lift and identify the commercial with the biggest impact.

Ad Uplift – For a direct-mail gourmet food provider, Researchscape conducted a series of ad tracking studies in four U.S. cities (two test markets and two control markets), to measure the uplift in awareness and intent to purchase from a radio campaign.

Concept Marketing – For a startup, we tested video messaging to highlight their service differentiation for subsequent use in a web-marketing campaign.

 

Alcohol Research

Researchscape performs surveys to better understand the ever fluctuating market presented by bars and nightclubs, as well as which styles of alchohol are most in-demand.

Concept Test – Flavored whiskey concept test for a beverage firm

Consumer Trends:

• Dry and Damp January interest (annual trend study) for a Top 10 market research firm
• Interest in hard seltzers for a beverage firm
• Sparkling wine trends for a beverage firm

Channel Trends – Alcohol purchases at convenience stores, for a software firm

Newsmaker Survey  – Post-COVID Return to Bars & Nightclubs

 

Brand Awareness Studies

Brand questionnaires typically measure each of the following:

• Unaided brand awareness
• Aided brand awareness
• Primary brand attribute (quality, convenience, affordability)
• Likelihood to recommend
• Purchase behavior
• Brand openness (willingness to purchase a brand for the first time)
• Customer experience (ease of use, effectiveness, and emotional engagement)
• Customer satisfaction (vs. expectations, vs. the ideal, and overall)
• Quality for price paid
• Customer loyalty (repurchase and preference)

Air Fresheners – For this category, we looked at unaided awareness, then studied the aided awareness of 28 brands.

Delivery App – For a delivery app focused on urban cores, Researchscape ran a monthly campaign tracker to measure brand awareness in a targeted group of zip codes in Boston, Denver, and Miami.

Gourmet Gifts – For a direct-mail gourmet food provider, Researchscape conducted a series of ad tracking studies in four U.S. cities (two test markets and two control markets), to measure the uplift in awareness and intent to purchase from a radio campaign.

Physician Group – For a regional physician group, Researchscape surveyed adults across 10 counties about brand awareness and patient experience.

SaaS – For a Software-as-a-Service data management firm, Researchscape surveyed IT managers and directors about their RDBMS brand awareness, perceptions, and customer experiences.

Toys – For a global toy brand, Researchscape surveyed parents in 10 countries: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States. Surveys were fielded in Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. The study measured brand awareness, attitudes, usage, and retail preferences in each market, as well as attitudes towards parenting children aged four and under. With 100 responses per country, overall results were weighted by the size of each nation’s toy market.

 

Concept Tests

Researchscape regularly helps startups and existing businesses understand their target market’s reaction to ideas for products and services, including purchase intent, relevance, uniqueness, and strengths and weaknesses. As part of such studies, Researchscape routinely conducts pricing and feature optimization, identifying the optimal price point for the concept in order to maximize revenue and the most important features required for success.

Consumer Product with Companion App – For a consumer-electronics startup, Researchscape surveyed automobile enthusiasts who had customized their car about the potential for an accessory that would include a mobile app.

Fixture Concept Test – For a manufacturer of shower heads and faucets, Researchscape conducted a discrete choice exercise (conjoint) to determine the best product configuration. Each configuration was selected from permutations of four or five attributes each for type, finish, style, spray settings, and innovative features (for a total possible space of 1,280 concepts). This trade-off exercise allows us to derive those attributes and levels that are truly important to consumers; this derived importance is typically more insightful than stated importance.

Golf App Concept Test – For Eco Rehab, Researchscape surveyed golfers with smartphones to determine the right combination of features for a golf app and the optimal price for the app. Testimonial: “This was a very useful exercise that Researchscape helped with, in determining the best way to move forward with our proposed app.”

Health-Monitor Wearable Concept Test – For a consumer-electronics startup seeking to raise its first round of funding, Researchscape identified the segments of consumers interested in a wearable that monitored key health statistics. The resulting research enabled the startup to understand the barriers to adoption and identified the target market that provides the greatest opportunity for early adoption.

Personal Service Concept Test – For a personal-services startup with a companion app, Researchscape identified which aspects of the potential service offering would be worth a premium and which wouldn’t. The resulting research enabled the startup to dramatically lower development costs after determining that some of the most expensive capabilities to develop were comparatively unimportant and would not command a premium.

SaaS Concept Test – For a Software-as-a-Service provider, Researchscape tested a potential solution to the challenges associated with producing meaningful reports and analysis from organization’s existing data. The survey was of both customers and prospects and included pricing optimization.

Video Game Console Concept Test – For a startup console manufacturer, Researchscape surveyed video gamers in the United States and Canada about their interest in a wearable console visor for immersive game play.

 

Consumer Purchasing

Researchscape regularly works with e-commerce companies and traditional retailers to understand consumer purchasing behavior. Also see our e-commerce and retail newsmaker surveys.

Office Supplies Website – For an office-supplies e-commerce store, we conduct a monthly customer-satisfaction tracker, integrating surveys of its own customers as well as surveys of customers of its leading competitor.

Peer-to-Peer Services – For a Silicon Valley peer-to-peer online marketplace, we evaluated travelers’ experiences with Airbnb, Couchsurfing, HomeAway, HomeExchange, Lyft, and Uber. We used an agile-research methodology of three subsequent studies to iteratively discover key opportunities in this market.

Seasonal Gifts – For a traditional direct-mail supplier of chocolate and flowers, Researchscape conducted two ad-tracking tests to measure the impact of radio promotions in select media markets (test and control markets).

Store Brands – For a European grocery store entering the U.S. market, Researchscape conducted three waves of tests of hundreds of private-label names for store-brand products across a wide variety of grocery categories.

Swimwear Apparel – An e-commerce firm specializing in swimwear and swim-related accessories had traditionally conducted only web experiments to shape its product catalog. We provided the first detailed demographic profile of the firm’s customers, uncovering key insights about consumer segments within their customer mix and identifying brands and products preferred by these segments.

Toy Manufacturer – For a global toy brand, Researchscape surveyed parents in 10 countries: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States. Surveys were fielded in Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. The study measured brand awareness, attitudes, usage, and retail preferences in each market, as well as attitudes towards parenting children four and under. With 100 responses per country, overall results were weighted by the size of each nation’s toy market.

 

Controversial Topics

Researchscape is sometimes called on to research sensitive or divisive topics. In such cases, Researchscape strives to develop neutral impartial wording in the questions.

Sample topics:

• A survey of gun owners about safety precautions, as part of a concept test for a new gun locker. (Some gun owners don’t want there to be any record of their gun ownership.)
• Attitudes towards the Affordable Care Act and usage of and likelihood to renew through Healthcare.gov.
• Attitudes towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including relative personal priorities.
• Political attitudes, behavior, and partisanship, including trust in the media.

 

Customer Satisfaction

Researchscape regularly conducts surveys about customer experience, satisfaction, and loyalty, using best-in-class questions and indices that have been proven to correlate to real-world performance.

Office Supplies – Until they were acquired by their leading competitor, we conducted a monthly customer-satisfaction tracker for a chain of office-products superstores in Canada, collecting over 400 responses every month and updating a custom dashboard system built in Zoho Reports with the latest results. As part of this tracker, we also surveyed 50 customers of that leading competitor.

Professional Services – Until their acquisition by Gordian, for Sightlines, a professional services firm selling to facility managers, we conducted an annual assessment of key-account customer satisfaction and updated a Key Driver Analysis of those service characteristics with the biggest impact on overall satisfaction. (See this press release, Researchscape International Reports Sightlines Member Satisfaction “Off the Charts” for B2B Service Providers.)

Wireless Service Provider – We surveyed customers whose wireless contract was due to expire in the next 30 to 60 days and correlated their survey responses to their subsequent renewal of their service contracts. From this, we developed a customized Customer Experience, Satisfaction, and Loyalty model, identifying the questions with the highest predictive validity around renewal and cancelation.

 

Employee Satisfaction and Engagement

Researchscape conducts annual benchmarks on U.S. employee engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty, so that our clients can measure themselves against the overall workforce.

Governance, Risk & Compliance – In our survey for Galvanize, a Diligent brand, we asked 105 GRC professionals and 108 non-GRC professionals who work in a similar department about how their companies view them. The study was conducted in the US and Canada during April 2021, and was covered by Security Infowatch.

HR Professionals – Researchscape surveyed HR directors and benefit directors about current health and wellness plans, future improvements to such plans, and employment engagement.

Newsmaker Surveys – For recent branded case studies, check out our HR newsmaker surveys and employee-engagement newsmaker surveys.

Independent Consultants – For a consulting and staffing agency, Researchscape surveyed upper-income U.S. professionals about employee engagement and attitudes towards independent consulting, oversampling in two metropolitan areas.

Industry Workforce – For the MRII, Researchscape surveyed research staff across the industry in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Researchscape developed a key driver analysis of the key contributors of employee satisfaction.

Multinational Workforces – For a multinational firm, Researchscape surveyed employees in Australia, China, Egypt, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States. The survey was translated into Afrikaans, Arabic, and Chinese.

Software-as-a-Service – For a SaaS firm specializing in franchise management, Researchscape conducts an annual employee-satisfaction tracker in the U.S. and India, adjusting the survey each year to cover new topics while trending benchmarks for employee engagement.

 

Establishment Surveys

Researchscape has conducted business profiling studies.

Executive Coaching Firm – For an executive coaching business, we conducted an establishment survey to determine revenue, costs, and valuations to help our client estimate the value of their business.

Graphic Design Firms – Researchscape conducted a survey of graphic design firms for detailed collection of their rate cards, to provide industry guidance on standard rates.

Small Business Owners – From 2014 to 2019, immediately after the U.S. federal tax deadline, Researchscape surveyed owners of pet boarding facilities and asked them for detailed financial data. Supporting the International Boarding and Pet Services Association, we profiled trends in the pricing strategies and owner compensation of such businesses.

 

Manufacturing Studies

Researchscape has conducted manufacturing studies in multiple countries and in a wide range of industries, from cleaning supplies to engineering equipment.

Brand Awareness Study – For an industry leader in PCB prototype manufacturing, optimization, and assembly, Researchscape conducted a survey of 100 PCB designers to understand their unaided and aided brand awareness and perceptions of firms that offer PCB prototype fabrication.

Competitive Selling Propositions – For a leading manufacturer of petrochemical equipment, Researchscape surveyed process engineers and engineering managers about the key selling points of equipment and related maintenance programs. A key driver analysis uncovered hidden drivers – higher in derived importance than stated importance – that are important when designing repair programs.

Brand Awareness – For a U.S. manufacturer of medical devices, Researchscape conducted a blind survey (client not identified) of service technicians of hemodialysis equipment to understand the relative reliability and reparability of its equipment in contrast to its leading competitors.

Customer Satisfaction – For a U.S. manufacturer of cleaning supplies, Researchscape conducted a series of studies, examining customer satisfaction of current and lapsed key accounts and the attitudes of sales staff.

Product Concept Test – For a startup manufacturer in Canada, Researchscape surveyed users of competitors’ equipment in North America about their interest in a next-generation product design.

Fixture Concept Test – For a manufacturer of shower heads and faucets, Researchscape surveyed frequent travelers who stay overnight in hotels at least once a month. The study was a discrete choice exercise (conjoint) to determine the best product configuration. Each configuration was selected from permutations of four or five attributes each for type, finish, style, spray settings, and innovative features (for a total possible space of 1,280 concepts). This trade-off exercise allows us to derive those attributes and levels that are truly important to consumers; this derived importance is typically more insightful than stated importance.

 

Multinational Studies

Researchscape International has conducted online research in over fifty countries. In fact, our first three studies when we were founded in 2012 were for clients in Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and Taiwan. Due to cultural differences in how people from other countries respond to survey scales, Researchscape is careful to create questionnaires that don’t artificially skew the results. The following are some multinational studies of note.

Videogames – For Dell’s Alienware brand, Researchscape surveyed 5,763 videogame players, ages 14-87, from 11 countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, New Zealand, UK and U.S.) and 6 six languages in order to better understand gaming habits, attitudes and the wider gaming community. This has led to coverage around the world, from The Irish Examiner to mResearcher (Russia) to NoCutNews (South Korea) to Kotak Game (Indonesia) to PC World (Australia).

Toys – For a global toy brand, Researchscape surveyed parents in 10 countries: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States. Surveys were fielded in Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. The study measured brand awareness, attitudes, and usage in each market. With 100 responses per country, overall results were weighted by the size of each nation’s toy market.

Employees – For a multinational firm, Researchscape surveyed employees in Australia, China, Egypt, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States. The survey was translated into Afrikaans, Arabic, and Chinese.

 

Tourism and Hospitality Studies

 

Tracking Studies

Office Supplies – Until they were acquired by their leading competitor, we conducted a monthly customer-satisfaction tracker for a chain of office-products superstores in Canada, collecting over 400 responses every month and updating a custom dashboard system built in Zoho Reports with the latest results. As part of this tracker, we also surveyed 50 customers of that leading competitor.

Professional Services – Until their acquisition by Gordian, for Sightlines, a professional services firm selling to facility managers, we conducted an annual assessment of key-account customer satisfaction and updated a Key Driver Analysis of those service characteristics with the biggest impact on overall satisfaction. (See this press release, Researchscape International Reports Sightlines Member Satisfaction “Off the Charts” for B2B Service Providers.)

Travel and Vacation Plans – For a travel consultancy, up until COVID-19 lockdowns, we conducted a biweekly tracking study on U.S. adults’ travel plans, recent behaviors, and attitudes towards different destinations. In addition to trending questions, we added topical questions to address issues of the day.

Software-as-a-Service – We conduct a quarterly tracker of customer experience, satisfaction, and loyalty. Customized alerts trigger the vendor’s case management system to take action on dissatisfied clients, as well as for those clients willing to provide testimonials.